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The previous article in this series (RDM November/December) examined techniques designed to search out areas of the country that might have potential for new stores. This article looks more closely at finding the best site available within a chosen area. It discusses store turnover forecasting techniques, and also considers the question of assessing viability in product‐dominated markets.

Many retailers, conscious of the increasing difficulty of finding good, viable sites for stores, have recently been considering the large array of store location techniques now available to them. The success of the two seminars on store location organised by RMDP in February 1983 and June 1984, bear witness to this concern. However, these retailers are likely to find it difficult to assess the efficacy and suitability of the bewildering range of techniques offered. This article, and three to follow, attempt briefly to guide the interested but wary retailer through the technical maze.

Discusses the difficulties facing retailers whose profitability has fallen while sales have risen, and the effects this has on the retail property market. Identifies the financial health of the retailers, discerning customers, occupation cost uncertainty, boom in floorspace, and competition from the non‐property market as factors which require a marketing effort by the property industry. Concludes that the use of information is vital for the property market to attract retailers.

The first article in this series explained why store location decisions are becoming more difficult. This article, and the next two, look at the pros and cons of various techniques that are now available to help retailers make such decisions. The three articles are presented in the sequence a retailer might follow as part of an ‘ideal’ store location strategy. This article looks at techniques aimed at searching out areas of the country that might have potential for new stores; these are referred to as search techniques. The next article discusses techniques that will forecast the likely turnover of a store on a particular site selected within the area of identified potential; these are referred to as viability techniques. The fourth and final article in the series will, as part of a consideration of evaluation of existing stores, look at techniques concerned with the effect of localised design, siting and perception issues on store performance; we can call these micro assessment techniques. The first part of this article will act as useful background for discussion of all three levels of technique application.

The last article in this series discussed ways of assessing the viability of a store on a specific site. The techniques discussed in that article are used to determine how the general locational characteristics of the potential trade areas of the site will affect sales at a new outlet. However, a store's performance can be strongly influenced not only by such general trade‐area characteristics but also by micro‐level features of the site. For example, whatever the number of potential customers in the locality, if an outlet has unattractive and dingy surroundings, lacks viability, or has poor local access, it will probably attract little business. In the first section of this article, therefore, the authors examine ways of estimating the nature and significance of such micro‐level site features. This takes us down to the third level in the “search‐viability‐micro” strategy suggested in article 2 (RDM, Nov/Dec 1984, p. 41). In the second section the authors turn to the evaluation, not of potential new outlets, but of existing outlets. Given the massive investment that major retailers have tied up in existing stores, as compared to that put into each additional store, it is remarkable that so little work has done on methods of evaluating existing stores. In the authors' view, both the estimation of the effects of micro‐level factors and the evaluation of existing outlets are grossly under‐researched areas.

In order to implement the sustainable development principles of Agenda 21 some municipalities in Sweden have developed scenarios for sustainable local societies. These scenarios differ from the two previous generations of scenarios in the sense that they require the participation of citizens in their preparation and implementation. This article discusses the premises of the three generations of scenarios: expert, hybrids and participatory. It describes the efforts to prepare a participatory scenario by the municipal government of Orebro (Sweden) in order to provide guidelines for a sustainable society. The article also discusses a method for preparing such a scenario.

To explain the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) June 29, 2017 announcement (as updated August 17, 2017) that the staff of its Division of Corporation Finance will accept draft registration statement submissions from all companies for nonpublic review, thereby expanding a popular benefit previously available only to emerging growth companies (ECGs) under the JOBS Act and, in limited circumstances, to certain foreign private issuers under historical Staff practices.

Explains the rationale and limitations of the new policy, the existing confidential submission process, the expanded class of issuers and transactions that now qualifies for the nonpublic review process, and content and staff processing details.

Recognizing that the confidential submission process for EGCs proved highly popular and quickly became standard practice for eligible companies seeking to conduct an IPO, the SEC has made the nonpublic review process available to an expanded class of issuers and transactions. The expanded confidential submission process for IPOs addresses some of the typical concerns associated with engaging in the IPO process by giving a company more time and flexibility to determine whether it actually will be able to achieve the benefits of going public before it incurs the burdens and expenses of doing so.

Practical guidance from experienced securities and corporate finance lawyers.

This paper explores key factors influencing high-performing, sustained growth, high-tech small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea.

A qualitative study is adopted to explore seventeen founder owner-managers of high-tech SMEs who sustained consistent employment growth, greater than the industry average, for seven years. Within the sample, those with higher (10% or over) employment compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) over this period are also compared to those with lower rates.

The study suggests that proactive approaches, such as flexible organization, risk management, fast decision-making and international market entry, are seen as important contributing factors to sustained growth. These findings contribute to a better theoretical and empirical understanding of sustained high-tech SME growth, in a country with a strong entrepreneurial and internationally competitive information technology sector. Also, collaboration across the SME was perceived as making an important contribution to staff development and growth, consistent with stewardship theory.

The sample is based on successful high-tech SMEs, so there are limitations in extrapolating results to other types of firms, sectors or countries.

Key factors identified in this study can be considered by entrepreneurs seeking to achieve sustainable business. These also provide improved understanding for policymakers into the complexity of factors related to sustained and high growth of technology-based SMEs, which many countries are keen to foster to aid national economic growth.

The research provides new evidence exploring the diverse perspectives of founder owner-managers, on the sustained growth and failure in South Korean high-tech SMEs, and how these have changed since the inception of their business.